On the morning of the ninth of April, 1809, the Church bells tolled fiercely, summoning the men of the Imperial County of Tyrol to gather in defense of their country. The Heir of Revolutionary Nationalism, the tyrant styling himself as Emperor, had suppressed the ancient liberties and Austrian loyalty of the Tyrol for long enough. The next day Imperial forces under the command of Archduke Karl von Teschen crossed the river Inn, beginning the War of the Fifth Coalition. In South Tyrol an army was gathering, under the command of a former militia Captain Andreas Hofer, the Innkeeper of Passeiertal.